Did you know you can really visit the town where the Halloweentown the Disney movie was filmed? Take a trip to the Pacific Northwest this Fall and plan a trip to visit "Halloweentown" in St. Helen's Oregon, a quaint little riverside town. We went last year and it was so much fun. This blog guide will help you plan your trip to Halloweentown. Put on a spooky outfit and channel your best witchy vibes. Plan a Trip to Halloweentown While we spent the day in St. Helen's, Oregon, we really planned the trip to visit Portland, Oregon, and the Oregon coast so I'll touch on some of that in a later post if you're interested in our entire trip. But let's dive right into some Halloweentown tips and tricks to plan your trip. How Far is St. Helen's from Portland? St. Helen's is only a 40-45 minute drive from Portland so it makes a great day trip. Because it was so close we knew it would be a town to visit to kick off the Halloween season and put us in the Halloween mood. When to visit Halloweentown? St. Helen's is a regular town so you can visit any time of the year, but they really put on a show for Spirit of Halloweentown from mid-September all the way until Halloween (Sep 16-Oct 31, 2023). Because of our trip itinerary, we visited on a weekday which was much more chill, but if you visit on the weekends, they open their main attractions and it's much more fun! What to do in Halloweentown? The main attraction in my opinion is the plaza in front of the courthouse with the large Halloweentown pumpkin! This is open on the weekends (weekdays for free) for photo ops and walking through. You can also see Benny the cab driver and pose with him for a picture. On October 7th , they have a big Halloweentown parade that ends with a pumpkin lighting so that's fun! On weekends you can purchase tickets to other attractions as well such as the haunted house, Big Halloween Exhibit, boat ride to Sand Island to hunt for Big Foot, a decorated houses tour, alien museum, movie theater showings, celebrity photo-ops and more! They host a costume contest every Saturday and Sunday with cash prizes up for grabs so go all out! Weekend attractions are usually open from 10 am to 5 pm unless otherwise noted. Halloweentown Photo Op Places? Giant Pumpkin - Halloweentown Plaza City Hall/Courthouse Plaza - Halloweentown Plaza at 275 Strand Street Benny’s Cab - Parked along Halloweentown Plaza (it's not exactly the cab from the movie, but Benny will be there in the driver’s seat and it's a fun photo to snag!) Bus stop - Halloweentown Plaza Old Theater : 212 S 1st Street (You can actually watch movies here including Halloweentown!) If you're looking for Aggie Cromwell’s house, it's located at 3814 SE Martins Street, Portland, Oregon so that's a bummer. Special events in Halloweentown? On October 21st- 22nd it's the 25th anniversary of the original movie and they will have special guests including "Sophie, Dylan, Luke, and Marnie" there, where you can get paid autographs and/or pictures with the cast. There is even a pizza party with Sophie, Dylan, and Luke you can attend. You can go inside the courthouse and see part of the movie set as well as scripts and other props and view the Halloweentown movie in their theater to celebrate! Other weekends are a host to special events such as Twilight weekend (September), Hocus Pocus weekend (September), Haunted Hotrods (October) and Witches Beer Fest and Witches Celebration (October). If you're a Twilight fan, the Bella Swan Twilight house is also in St. Helen's. You can stop by to see it and take your picture out front as well. Where to park for Halloweentown? During the weekdays you can park in the city on 231 S First Street and it's free. On the weekends, because it's a small town that pulls a big crowd, they offer parking passes for 1810 Old Portland Road and will shuttle you into the town. Parking on weekends costs $15 a day online and $20 in person so plan ahead. To get more information and purchase your tickets for attractions, celebrity photos, parking, and more, visit their Halloweentown website . Visiting Halloweentown is such a fun trip and such a unique place! If you are planning a trip to Portland or the Oregon coast, come back soon for my 4-day trip itinerary and guide! Looking for more Halloween fun? Check out our DIY Cheesecloth Ghosts, 13 Witchy Reads for Fall , and Copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam Recipe .

Summer is just around the corner and I've been looking for creative ways to stay cool. I have made a few versions of popsicles, but these Peach & Strawberry Wine Popsicles are my favorites and I’ll definitely be stocking my freezer with these for the summer. These wine popsicles were inspired when I was grocery shopping and saw this Arbor Mist Peach Moscato. It’s been so hot here, and I’ve been trying to find something new and cool to drink during the summer. I thought it sounded pretty delicious, so I bought a bottle. This peach Moscato is good to drink all by itself, but I immediately thought of strawberries and peaches and popsicles and decided to make my own recipe. Why not take it up a notch? I love the pretty red and peach layers of the strawberries and peaches. Peach & Strawberry Wine Popsicles 1 cup frozen strawberries 2 tablespoons sugar 1/3 cup Moscato 1 cup peaches 3 tablespoons sugar 1/2 cup Moscato Strawberry Layer Start with your strawberry layer. Blend together your frozen strawberries, 2 tablespoons sugar, and 1/3 cup Moscato. Pour into molds, filling about halfway. Freeze while you create your peach layer. Peach Layer In a blender, mix together about 1 cup of frozen peaches, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and 1/2 cup moscato. Pour on top of your strawberry layer. Put wooden popsicle sticks in and freeze overnight. I used aluminum foil to help hold the stick in place while it was freezing. Serve plain or in a wine glass with more Moscato poured over the top. *This makes about 6 popsicles. I used this popsicle mold but used wooden popsicle sticks instead of the plastic bottoms that it comes with. Moms are planning to enjoy this Summer too! Bring on hot mama, wine popsicle summer! Looking for a cold treat for the kids? Try our No-Churn Chocolate Ice Cream !

These Mini Lemon Flower Tarts are perfect for any Spring celebration, including a Mother's Day Brunch! These two-ingredient mini lemon tarts are super simple and make a stunning presentation for any Spring gathering. We loved them for Easter brunch and think they would be a stunning addition to your Mother's Day celebration! Mini Lemon Flower Tarts Recipe Ingredients: 1 box Ready-to-Bake roll-out pie crusts 1 can lemon creme (We used a can of Duncan Hines lemon creme found in the baking section) powdered sugar, optional Supplies: Flower cookie cutter mini cupcake pan Directions: Set your pie crust out, to become room temperature. Preheat your oven to 450F. Once your dough is room temp, roll it out and cut flower shapes out of it with this flower cookie cutter. 1 pie crust makes about 7 flowers, plan accordingly. Tuck each pie flower down into the mini cupcake pan, being sure to press them down into the bottom well, and gently fold the petals back around the top of the cupcake pan. Give the bottom and sides a few pokes with a fork. Bake for 5-6 minutes. 5 minutes was the sweet spot for me but your oven might be slightly different. Gently remove the flowers and let them cool for a few minutes on a wire rack. Spoon the lemon creme into a plastic baggie and cut the tip off. Pipe the lemon creme into the center of the mini flowers. Refrigerate for a few hours or until ready to serve. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired before serving. I tilted my flowers so that the powdered sugar got on the petals and not the pretty yellow filling. These would be a sweet treat to serve for a Mother’s Day Brunch! Moms always love flowers and they would make such a pretty presentation. These sweet lemon tarts would even be great for a baby or wedding shower or even a tea party or any celebration really! They are so pretty and bite-sized! This post may contain affiliate links.

Elevate your Taco Tuesday with these amazing Chicken Tinga Quesadilla Tacos! Everyone in my family gets so excited when I make these tacos. The tacos taste so good and look beautiful, but the recipe is so easy! These aren't your average chicken tacos, because we turn the taco into a quesadilla. I mean look at that cheese pull! Let's jump right in and make these amazing tacos. As I said, these are stunning tacos, but actually pretty easy to make. Easy enough that you can actually have them on Taco Tuesday without feeling overwhelmed. Chicken Tinga Quesadilla Tacos Ingredients: Olive oil, about 1 tablespoon 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded 1 red onion, halved then sliced 1 can of chipotle chilis in Adobe sauce (I vary how much I use, but usually it's around 4 of the peppers with some of the sauce added in) 1, 28oz can of crushed tomatoes 4 garlic cloves 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp dried oregano small flour tortillas (you need 2 tortillas per taco) non-stick spray, I like avocado spray quesadilla cheese, shredded Roasted poblano salsa cremosa (so so good, makes those flavors pop) Toppings optional: Onion, chopped (for ease, I buy prechopped) Queso Fresco cilantro lime wedges Note: Special tools this recipe calls for are a griddle (I own this one) and a food processor . Directions: Halve your red onion and cut it into thin slices. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large saute pan and heat over medium-high heat. Add onions to start cooking. While your onions are cooking down, add garlic cloves, chipotles in adobe sauce, crushed tomatoes, oregano, cumin, and salt to a food processor and blend. 4. Once your sauce is blended, add it to your pan with the red onions and bring to a simmer. 5. Add in the shredded chicken and stir to combine. Bring it all to a simmer again and turn it down to low to just heat the chicken through and let that sauce marinate the chicken. 6. Start prepping your toppings for the tacos - we like chopped onion (I often buy pre-chopped to save time), crumbled queso fresco, cilantro, lime wedges, and the roasted poblano salsa cremosa really makes these tacos. Set all this aside and get ready to start making your tacos. 7. Start getting your griddle warm, I think I usually cook mine around 300. Spray with non-stick spray. I like avocado spray. 8. When your griddle is ready, add your bottom tortillas and top with shredded quesadilla cheese. Top with another tortilla. 9. When they are almost ready to flip, spray the top side with more non-stick spray, flip, and cook the other side. 10. Now, you're ready to make your tacos! The easiest way to make your taco fold in half is to use your spatula and made a small indentation down the middle to fold easier. 11. Add a scoop of the chicken mixture to one side of the taco. I sometimes add the rest of the toppings right way, other times I remove them from the griddle and add the toppings. Fold your taco together 12. Top with queso fresco, cilantro, chopped onions, roasted poblano salsa cremo, or whatever toppings your family likes. 13. Serve with a wedge of lime and enjoy! This post may contain affiliate links .

In my most recent attempt to be a healthier, I created this healthy green smoothie. It's so yummy and recently has been my favorite breakfast, even my kiddos like it! I finally got a chance to make it for Richard this week and he's a fan. It's so simple and super healthy with all that spinach! I created measurements for this post, but usually for my frozen fruits and spinach I sort of eyeball it. The measurements aren't always exact when I make it but pretty close. This smoothie is so good you don't even feel like you're eating greens. It's a wonderful way to get some green stuff into your body making your day start off healthier! Green Smoothie 1/2 cup frozen peaches 1/2 cup frozen pineapple chunks 4 ice cubes 1 cup cold water 2 fresh bananas, broken into pieces 1 fresh kiwi, peeled and sliced 3 cups fresh baby spinach 1 small container vanilla yogurt (6 oz) Blend it all together for a few minutes, stirring to ensure everything is getting mixed and enjoy! This makes about 36 ounces of smoothie.

April showers bring May flowers! We’re bringing some of those pretty Spring and Summer flowers to our table with these sweet Flower Garden Parfaits that your kids will enjoy making and eating! After our DIY wildflower seed bombs, we’re in the gardening mood. These garden parfaits are perfect and easy enough for kids to help! Whether you’ve spent the morning gardening, at the park, having a playdate with friends or at an outdoor tea party these cute little flower garden parfaits are a sweet treat your kids will love to help you make and eat. This flower parfait makes a good dessert or snack idea! We choose 2 different flavors and colors of pudding to create the layered to look, like Earth and topped off with blooming daisy spoons. So pretty and yummy! Flower Garden Parfaits Supplies: Clear cups Pudding – I used chocolate and butterscotch Chocolate chips Mini marshmallows Shredded candy sprinkles, green sprinkles, or green coconut shredded Daisy flowers green plastic spoons First, create the flower spoons. Simply glue faux white daisy heads to the ends of green plastic spoons with hot glue. Set them aside until you’re ready to assemble your flower garden parfaits. Directions: Layer your cups in this order 1. chocolate pudding 2. marshmallows (rocks) 3. butterscotch pudding 4. chocolate chips (different stones) 5. a little more chocolate pudding 6. shredded grass candy, green coconut flakes, or green sprinkles to look like grass Serve your little flower garden parfaits at your next party or playdate or have the guest get involved and let them make their own! My kids love helping in the kitchen with cute and easy food! You may also like our : DIY Wilflower Seed Bombs

I'm obsessed with Taylor Swift and The Eras Tour currently. The imagery in the Lavender Haze music video is just so dreamy so I decided to create a Lavender Haze-inspired Cocktail to sip on while scrolling SwiftTok and Instagram and watching videos. This cocktail features egg whites, which I wasn't sure about at first, but after making a few different versions of this drink, I realized, it NEEDS the egg. They add a subtle creaminess to the drink and it doesn't taste like egg at all. It makes it even prettier and looks like the clouds Taylor is floating on during the Lavender Haze music video. So let's share out how we made this pretty cocktail! Lavender Haze Cocktail Ingredients: 2 oz Empress Gin 1908 3/4 oz lemon juice (we use this juicer) 3/4 oz simple syrup 1 dash lavender bitters 1 egg white large ice cube dried edible lavender flowers , optional as garnish Notes: This serves up perfectly in a coupe glass and makes 1 drink. Instructions: Chill your coupe glass in the freezer for a few minutes, while you prepare the drink. In a cocktail shaker add the Empress Gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, egg white, and lavender bitters. Dry shake for 15 seconds, no ice. Add the ice cube to your shaker, wet shake for 20-30 seconds. Double-strain the drink into your chilled coupe glasses. At first it will look very white but after a minute, it settles to this lovely lavender color. Garnish with dried lavender flowers if desired Note about egg whites: Adding egg whites to your cocktails is a very old-fashioned thing and perfectly safe as long as your egg stays chilled. The egg white adds a rich creamy texture and for this drink, it represents the clouds that we see in the Lavender Haze music video. If you want more information, check out this egg-white cocktails video . Shop Cocktail Fun Finds: Iridescent coupe glasses // Bitters Set // Glass cocktail shaker For more Taylor Swift-inspired fun, check out our DIY Lover House Friendship Bracelet Holder Eras Tour Confetti Shadow Box and our Lavender Lemonade mocktail ! Be sure to check out my newest post on how to throw a Taylor Swift Party !

I'm reading through the Harry Potter series with my son and he's loving it. We recently finished the fourth book, Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. As usual, I had to do an at-home movie showing with a themed dinner with fun treats to celebrate. We always make a butterbeer milkshake anytime we watch a Harry Potter movie and this time was no different. This butterbeer milkshake is only a few ingredients and so easy to make! Kids and adults alike love it! Butterbeer Milkshake Ingredients: 4 cups cream soda 4 cups vanilla ice cream 1/2 cup butterscotch topping (plus more for topping) whipped cream Directions: In a blender, mix together your cream soda, your favorite vanilla ice cream, and butterscotch topping. Blend together until smooth. Divide into individual servings (ours made 4 glasses) and top with whipped cream and a drizzle of butterscotch topping. Serve and enjoy! This drink is creamy and drinkable and not quite as thick as a real milkshake, but so yummy! Perfect for whipping up during a Harry Potter movie night! We also snagged some butterbeer chewy candies and chocolate frogs and pretended we were on the train to Hogwarts buying stuff off the trolley! Shop Harry Potter Fun Finds: Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit // Hagrid's Hut Lego Set // Hogwarts House Squishmallow If you like this recipe be sure to stay tuned for more Harry Potter-inspired posts coming soon!

I recently shared our recipe for a Butterbeer Milkshake ! Today, I'm going to share another fun Harry Potter dinner idea that pairs perfectly with the fourth Harry Potter book or movie, Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. If you've read the book or watched the movie, you know that the Goblet of Fire is the one with the Triwizard Tournament and features a new character - Alaster Moody. He is also known as Mad-Eye Moody because he has a magical eye that can rotate 360 degrees and see through anything, including invisibility cloaks! Gillyweed is a magical plant that when eaten gives you gills and allows you to breathe underwater. It also creates webbing between your fingers and toes which comes in handy for swimming. In case you haven't read the book yet, I don't want to give any spoilers, but Gillyweed makes its debut in this book. So, for this themed movie night dinner, I served Mad-Eye Moody Meatballs and Gillyweed Pasta! Of course, there was also a butterbeer milkshake on the side and a chocolate frog for dessert. Harry Potter Dinner Mad-Eye Moody Meatballs Ingredients: Frozen meatballs mozzarella cheese, sliced, cut into circles canned olives, sliced small round cookie cutter or shot glass for cutting the cheese circles Directions: Bake your meatballs as directed on the package in the oven or pan. While your meatballs are baking, lay out your sliced cheese on a cutting board, and use a small round cookie cutter or shot glass to press into the cheese, creating small circle shapes. Once your meatballs are cooked, place the small circle of cheese on top of each meatball and finish it off with a slice of olive to create an eyeball look. I placed my meatballs back in the oven on broil for a minute (while watching it), to make sure my cheese melted a little bit and adhered to the meatball, but kept its shape and didn't melt off. Now you have Mad-Eye Moody Meatballs! Set your meatballs aside while you finish your Gillyweed Pasta and then you can plate it together. Gillyweed Pasta Ingredients: pesto, jarred or homemade angel hair pasta, or spaghetti noodles looks best and can be called mermaid hair pasta for fun Directions: Cook your pasta as directed on the package and drain well Add the pasta back into the pot and top with pesto sauce, stir to combine, and warm through Now, you can serve your Harry Potter-inspired meal! Dip up some Gillyweed Pasta and top it with a few Mad-Eye Moody Meatballs and enjoy! Do you throw themed movie nights at your house? If so, what other movies should I create themed dinners for?

It is officially pumpkin coffee season aka the best season in my opinion. I love a good pumpkin latte but I can't justify getting a Starbucks coffee every day, so I whipped up this recipe to make my own Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam recipe at home. It's a pretty good Starbucks copycat recipe! It uses real pumpkin so there is no artificial flavor there and this batch makes about 4-6 servings, depending on how much cold foam you put in your coffee. I'm sipping on one as I type this. Now, let me share this yummy treat with you so you can enjoy one too. Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam 1 cup heavy cream 1 tablespoon brown sugar 3 tablespoons pumpkin puree 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice 1 teaspoon vanilla In a jar, I use a mason jar with a lid, add together all your ingredients. Blend the ingredients together using a handheld milk frother . Once it's blended and creamy, store it in the refrigerator with the lid on it. I usually serve mine over a glass with cold brew but I've also stirred it into hot coffee and it's good like that too! Watch our tiktok where we make this drink ! This recipe makes about a mason jar full. That will make me a pumpkin latte each day for about 4 or 5 days. You may also like our pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and butterbeer milkshakes .

This zombie brain sushi is a fun food for Halloween. It's creepy looking, but really it's just sushi jazzed up to look like a brain and my kids eat it up (literally)! Zombie Brain Sushi *This recipe makes 4 brains, using 1/2 of an avocado for each brain. Ingredients: avocados x 2 cooked sushi rice cream cheese, about 4 tablespoons smoked salmon, about 9 oz red food coloring, a few drops Directions: Prep: Cook your sushi rice as directed on the package. I cooked 1 cup of dry sushi rice. Cut your avocado in half and take out the pit. Scoop the flesh out of the skin leaving the whole avocado in that half shape. Fill the hole in your avocado with some softened cream cheese. 3. Place the avocado, cream cheese side down, onto your plate. 4. Cover the avocado with the cooked sushi rice (save some sushi rice in a small bowl for the last step. Have a bowl of water nearby to wet your hands so that the rice doesn't stick to your hands. 5. Take pieces of the smoked salmon, fold them to create the brain-like folds, and place them on top of the rice, folding them to create that brain look. 6. Cover your brain with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge. This helps mold that salmon into the brain shape. 7. Add a few drops of the red food coloring to the sushi rice that you saved earlier. Stir it around to coat. 8. Take out your sushi brains and add the red rice in a line down the center of your brain. 9. Cover with plastic wrap again and store in the fridge until you're ready to eat it. These are great to make ahead for Halloween night and eat them before or after trick or treating. For more Halloween fun check out these posts: 13 Witchy Books for Fall DIY Cheesecloth Ghosts Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Like most families, spaghetti is a staple food around our house and we usually make it a few times a month. Recently though, I changed it up. I started making what I call Million Dollar Spaghetti! I named it that because 1. It tastes like a million dollars, it's so yummy! 2. I make it with some of the pricier sauces i.e. it "cost a million dollars". Not really, but it was a joke that stuck in our family. Now, this one-pot million-dollar spaghetti can totally be made with whatever sauce your family likes the best but I've made it with a variety of sauces and we keep coming back to this flavor combination. This makes a big batch of spaghetti, perfect for a large family or leftovers because it's remarkably even better the next day! One-Pot Million Dollar Spaghetti 1 lb mild Italian sausage, ground mushrooms, sliced (I use a whole pack of fresh mushrooms but skip if you don't like mushrooms) Rao's tomato basil spaghetti sauce, 24 oz jar Rao's roasted garlic Alfredo sauce, 15 oz jar 1 box of spaghetti noodles, uncooked 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese Serves: 8 Total cook time: 40 mins 1. In a large Dutch oven , cook your ground Italian sausage over medium-high heat until almost cooked through. 2. Add in your sliced mushrooms and cook down. 3. Mix in your spaghetti sauce and then fill the empty jar about 1/2 way with water and add that too. Stir to combine 4. Break your spaghetti noodles in half and put them on top of the sauce. Stir slightly to cover the noodles. 5. Top the noodles with a jar of Alfredo sauce. 6. Add your shredded mozzarella cheese to the top of everything. 7. Cover and cook on low, simmering, for 10 minutes. 8. Remove the lid and stir the noodles to make sure they are not clumping. 9. Cover and continue to cook on low for another 10 minutes. 10. Stir noodles again and recover for another 10 minutes. Your noodles are going to cook for a total of 30 minutes . I've tried to space it out more and only stir ever 15 minutes but I've had trouble lately with the noodles sticking so I've changed up the time a bit. 10. Stir before serving and enjoy! We serve our million-dollar spaghetti with a yummy side salad and sometimes some garlic bread.